第四章
第11段
The truth is, that all genuine appreciation rests on a certain mystery of humility and almost of darkness. The man who said, "Blessed is he that expecteth nothing, for he shall not be disappointed," put the eulogy quite inadequately and even falsely. The truth "Blessed is he that expecteth nothing, for he shall be gloriously surprised." The man who expects nothing sees redder roses than common men can see, and greener grass, and a more startling sun. Blessed is he that expecteth nothing, for he shall possess the cities and the mountains; blessed is the meek, for he shall inherit the earth. Until we realize that things might not be we cannot realize that things are. Until we see the background of darkness we cannot admire the light as a single and created thing. As soon as we have seen that darkness, all light is lightening, sudden, blinding, and divine. Until we picture nonentity we underrate the victory of God, and can realize none of the trophies of His ancient war. It is one of the million wild jests of truth that we know nothing until we know nothing.
真相是，所有由衷的感激之情都奠基於自慚形穢與隱晦不明的奧秘。「毫無期待的人是有福的，因他不會失望」實在是句不恰當，甚至可說是錯誤的宣頌，正確來說應該是：「毫無期待的人是有福的，因他會經歷喜出望外的驚喜。」不待期待的人眼中的紅玫瑰，比常人眼裡的更鮮紅，青草也更翠綠，豔陽也更燦爛。毫無期待的人有福了，因他將擁有城市與山崗。謙遜的人有福了，因他將承受地土。除非我們認識到事物那超出我們預想之外的可能，我們永無法理解他們的本相。除非我們看見那黑不見底的背景，我們不會欣賞「光」那獨一、受造的本質。一旦我們看見黑暗，光就更加明亮、驟然、炫目、神聖。直到我們在腦中勾勒那超乎存在界的存在，我們都貶低了神的榮光，對其勝利榮耀一無所知。我們一無所知直到我們明白自己一無所知，即是那許多矛盾諷刺的真理之一。
第12段
Now this is, I say deliberately, the only defect in the greatness of Mr. Shaw, the only answer to his claim to be a great man, that he is not easily pleased. He is an almost solitary exception to the general and essential maxim, that little things please great minds. And from this absence of that most uproarious of all things, humility, comes incidentally the peculiar insistence on the Superman. After belabouring a great many people for a great many years for being unprogressive, Mr. Shaw has discovered, with characteristic sense, that it is very doubtful whether any existing human being with two legs can be progressive at all. Having come to doubt whether humanity can be combined with progress, most people, easily pleased, would have elected to abandon progress and remain with humanity. Mr. Shaw, not being easily pleased, decides to throw over humanity with all its limitations and go in for progress for its own sake. If man, as we know him, is incapable of the philosophy of progress, Mr. Shaw asks, not for a new kind of philosophy, but for a new kind of man. It is rather as if a nurse had tried a rather bitter food for some years on a baby, and on discovering that it was not suitable, should not throw away the food and ask for a new food, but throw the baby out of window, and ask for a new baby. Mr. Shaw cannot understand that the thing which is valuable and lovable in our eyes is man—the old beer-drinking, creed-making, fighting, failing, sensual, respectable man. And the things that have been founded on this creature immortally remain; the things that have been founded on the fancy of the Superman have died with the dying civilizations which alone have given them birth. When Christ at a symbolic moment was establishing His great society, He chose for its cornerstone neither the brilliant Paul nor the mystic John, but a shuffler, a snob a coward—in a word, a man. And upon this rock He has built His Church, and the gates of Hell have not prevailed against it. All the empires and the kingdoms have failed, because of this inherent and continual weakness, that they were founded by strong men and upon strong men. But this one thing, the historic Christian Church, was founded on a weak man, and for that reason it is indestructible. For no chain is stronger than its weakest link.
我語重心長的說，這是偉大的蕭伯納唯一的缺陷，對他所宣稱的不凡的唯一回應，就是他是一個不容易取悅的人。他幾乎可以說是「超凡心智喜微物」這尋常基本定律的唯一反例。而因為缺乏了那萬事萬物中最震耳欲聾的本質——人性，他展現出對「超人」莫名的執念。在無數年來斥責無數人毫無進步後，蕭伯納以其特有的敏銳發現，任何活著、有兩條腿的人是否有可能進步，實在令人懷疑。當對於人性是否有進步的可能產生懷疑時，大部分人，大部分容易取悅的人，都會選擇拋下進步，保持人性。但蕭伯納，不容易取悅的蕭伯納，決定要將人性與其一切的限制一起丟棄，選擇專注著為了進步而追求進步。若人，我們所知道的人，在進步這哲學理念上展現的只有他的無能，蕭伯納的做法不是尋求另一種哲學，而是一種新的人類。這就好像護士嘗試餵小嬰兒帶有苦味的食物多年，當發現不適合時，護士不是替換新的食物，而是將這小嬰兒丟出窗外，另尋新的嬰兒。蕭伯納不明白，在我們眼中有價值、可愛的，是人，那個愛喝啤酒、愛訂教條、打架、失敗、有血有肉、又令人尊敬的人。在人這受造物身上所建構、打造的一切將不朽留存；在對「超人」的幻想上所建構的一切，則將與頹敗的文化，那誕生這一切的文化，一起死去。當基督在歷史性的一刻建立祂的偉大社會時，祂所選的房角石不是偉大的保羅或神秘的約翰，而是牆頭草（譯註：原文為shuffler，目前翻譯不確定是對的）、勢利鬼、懦夫，簡言之，是人。而在這塊房角石上，祂建立了祂的教會，陰間的權勢無法勝過。所有的帝國、皇朝都因其內部與持續存在的弱點而消亡，但它們是由強壯偉大的人創，靠強壯偉大的人而立。唯有歷史性的基督教會是建立在軟弱的人身上，因此這教會無法消滅毀壞，因無矛可刺穿過其最弱之盾（譯註：原文為：For no chain is stronger than its weakest link。直譯應該是：沒有鎖鍊比其最弱的連結強壯-_-）。
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